Adrian Vilau, a Romanian player born in 2005 and based in Bucharest, won the Open category of the 2024 European Kendama Championship, held in Leiden (Netherlands). His Pro Model for Krom, the Danish brand founded in Copenhagen by Thorkild May, reproduces the setup he usually plays with.

• BrandKrom Kendama
• ModelAdrian Vilau Pro Mod
• ShapeLambo
• WoodMaple ken, beech tama
• Tama62 mm, I+D paint in matte purple
• IncludesMini bearing, spare string, a tool for changing it and stickers

Design

A kendama has three parts: the ken (the handle with the spike), the sarado (the crosspiece with the side cups) and the tama (the ball). The tama is a deep purple with a matte finish and carries an illustration of Leiden on top, the city where Adrian won the European title. A camouflage band completes the decoration. The ken is left in natural wood, with the player’s “AV” stamp on the base.

Shape and materials

The Lambo is a Krom shape with sleek, balanced lines, designed for technical play: stalls (the ball resting still on the ken), juggles, spins and taps. The ken is made of maple, a dense, stable wood, and the tama of beech. The string is attached with a mini bearing, a small swivelling part that stops it from twisting. Krom also guarantees a maximum weight difference of 7 g between ken and tama. Adrian particularly enjoys fast hand tricks, stuntplanes and downspikes, as well as balance tricks such as the lunar.